Smith, Khawaja, Hussey Miss Out on Cricket Australia Contracts

Australia contracted 20 players to
its national cricket teams in the 12 months from July, with
recent Test squad members Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and
Usman Khawaja among those to miss out.

All-rounder James Faulkner and batsmen Phil Hughes and Ed Cowan were among six players given full contracts for 2013-14
after they were added to the initial 17-man list for 2012-13,
Cricket Australia said. Retirees Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey
drop off the roster along with David Hussey, who was omitted.

Chief selector John Inverarity said Smith, Henriques,
Khawaja and Jackson Bird had been “very close in our
considerations” and their omissions wouldn’t preclude them from
playing for Australia, which is scheduled to take on England in
back-to-back Ashes series this year. Contracts are awarded on
performances in the past 12 months and the likelihood of future
selection.

“We just thought the natural cutoff point last time was 17
and this time its 20,” Inverarity said in a televised news
conference. “All of those 20 players we see as playing a real
role during the 12-month period starting July 1. There’s another
three, four or five players who it’s very likely that they will
be upgraded.”

Australia’s Test team, which suffered its first 4-0 sweep
of losses since 1970 in India last month, faces England in two
five-match Ashes series, in the U.K. beginning July 10 and then
in Australia from Nov. 21.

Inverarity said squads for the first Ashes series and
June’s Champions Trophy one-day tournament in England and Wales
were close to being selected.

The decision not to offer David Hussey a new contract may
signal the end of the 35-year-old batsman’s international career
after 69 one-day matches and 39 Twenty20 games.

“I’d never say never about anybody, but it is an
indication that we are looking towards grooming some younger
players,” Inverarity said of Hussey’s omission. “As we all
appreciate, we are very much in a transition stage in Australian
cricket. We are looking to give experience to those young
players we think will come through.”